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SCUTTLEBUTT 2402 - August 2, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. CELEBRATION Eight-hundred friends from the U.S., Australia, Denmark, Sweden and Spain celebrated Harken’s 40th anniversary at an extravaganza of a party at the factory in Pewaukee. There were so many faces from the past. People that created the memories we still laugh about and helped make this company what it is. They looked the same, hopefully a bit wiser, with a few character lines added here and there. The old stories were told and retold late into the night—an over-the-top reunion of our extended family. The 54’ stern steerer the Deuce (the world’s largest iceboat), Peter’s latest E-Skeeter iceboat, along with boats from the Vanguard days were on display. The Eric Stone band came up from Florida to give us Jimmy Buffet style music. There were factory tours showing how a product is made—from prototyping, engineering, machining, injection molding and testing, to assembly, packaging and marketing. Finally we recognized those that made a real difference in the success of the company including our first vendor, 80 year old Leroy Stippich. Buddy Melges was also on hand to personally salute the company’s 40 years with a great talk. Many of the major sailing magazines were here: Josh Adams, Don Macaulay, Joe Howey and his wife Andrea of Sail, Sally Helme and David Gillespie of Sailing World, George Day of Blue Water Sailing and Bill and Jean Schanen of Sailing. Sailing photographer, Billy Black came loaded with cameras and took lots of pictures. Ben and Nan Hall from Hall Spars came as did Barry Carroll (Summit Yachts) and his wife Janice. Finally the Harken team presented Peter and Olaf with a Segway machine so they can cruise around the factory in style. It was a blast! For photos from this epic event: http://www.harken.com/sailing/anniversary.php For a link to Harken’s 40th Blog: http://anniversary.harken.com/ INVESTING IN SAILING'S FUTURE Charles Schwab is a company that is known for investing people's money wisely. By creating the Charles Schwab Junior Sailing Cup, the respected firm is making a sound investment in the future of sailing. Thanks to the sponsorship of Charles Schwab, dozens of youngsters throughout the Annapolis area have gotten the opportunity to race keelboats as part of the J/World Thursday Night Series. The Annapolis branch of the nationwide company has chartered four J/80s for the duration of the summer series and paid the entry fee for each. Every Thursday night, some 25-30 junior sailors don matching colored life jackets provided by Schwab and compete with other J/80s in the one-design format. "I think what Charles Schwab has done is fantastic. This program is introducing all sorts of kids to keelboat racing," said Jeff Jordan, an instructor with J/World Annapolis who has provided onboard coaching for the junior teams. "With each passing week, I see the kids gaining more and more confidence in their ability to handle these boats. It really is neat to see the progress they are making." The Charles Schwab Junior Sailing Cup was the brainchild of Andrew Coyne, an Arnold resident and vice president of the company's Annapolis office. Coyne, relatively new to sailboat racing himself, was looking for a way to have Charles Schwab support sailing in the Annapolis area. Legendary sailing figure Gary Jobson told Coyne the future of sailing depended on getting junior sailors to transition from dinghies to big boats and that conversation provided the impetus for the Junior Sailing Cup. -- Capital Online, full story: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/07_05-41/SAL FLOATING BILLBOARDS An advertising entrepreneur's idea of floating marine billboards on San Diego Bay has sailed into controversy. Airplanes tow ad banners, so why not have boats tow billboards? Such was the creative plan of Stuart Weintraub of Weintraub Media. So, over Memorial Day weekend, Weintraub hired a boat to pull a pontoon-supported billboard promoting Time Warner Cable. Sea Tow, the boater's version of a AAA service, towed the 36-foot-long, 14-foot-high, three-section billboard. Reaction, though mixed, was fairly negative, said towboat Capt. Bubba Severance, and he is opting out of the experiment because he doesn't want to anger clientele. Weintraub said he and Billboard Boats Inc., the Malibu company that manufactures the “billboats,” believe they are providing a community service. Weintraub recently received a letter from San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre ordering him, as a commercial enterprise, to stop advertising on San Diego Bay without a permit. The San Diego Unified Port District has told him it won't issue a permit at this time and is reviewing the issue. Advertisement For now, Weintraub is keeping his billboards dry, but he says he is losing money each day of delay and hopes to resume business soon. – San Diego Union, full story: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/bell/20070724-9999-1m24bell.htm l * The Log, recently detailed the controversy and opposition. -- http://www.thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=218190 LIFE-THREATENING Rescue authorities have said that they won't come to the rescue of the dismasted catamaran Clandara which is drifting about 600 nautical miles south east of Reunion in the Indian Ocean – until the situation is 'life-threatening'. The yacht is dismasted, they have run out of fuel and are running low on water. So what's the definition of 'life-threatening'? Maybe they have to wait until serious dehydration sets in. -- Sail-world website, full story: http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=36246&rid=11 ULLMAN SAILS ON TRANSPAC 2007 Ullman Sails would like to congratulate Jack Taylor’s Santa Cruz 50 Horizon and Steve Calhoun’s Cal 40 Psyche for their outstanding finishes in the 2007 44th Biennial Transpacific Yacht Race. Taylor’s Horizon finished 4th overall out of a fleet of 80 competitors and 2nd in Division 50/52. Calhoun’s Psyche won Division 6 on corrected time, finishing 2nd on line. Both competed with a full inventory of Ullman Sails, proving once again that Ullman Sails delivers the speed and reliability to win world-class regattas. For the “Fastest Sails on the Planet,” contact an Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com THIS COULD BE THE START OF SOMETHING BIG They came last this time round but China Team are plotting a glorious America's Cup future once the spotlight turns away from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. China's first America's Cup team started off with little more than a Chinese flag, Chinese money, and a Chinese dream. Venture capitalist Wang Chaoyong had been blown away by the high-tech elegance of the Formula One of sailing at a regatta in France. Knowing it would take years to build a syndicate from scratch, he did it the corporate way and bought a team in 2005.Wang's challenge to the former crew and shore team of France's Le Defi was not only to sail in Valencia in 2007 but to build up a long-term yachting programme in China. -- Jane Barrett, The Guardian, full story: http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6752054,00.html OPTIMIST WORLDS Sardinia, Italy -- Chris Steele of the Wakatere B.C. in Auckland, is the 2007 Optimist World Champion, the first time the event has been won by a New Zealand sailor. On the sixth and final day of the championship the race committee managed two races in relatively light 8-12 knots, leaving the series complete at 13 races. Benjamin Grez from a relatively small and remote fleet in Chile took the silver, just six points behind Steele. Germany’s Alexandra Maloney finished off a fine consistent series to take over-all bronze and the girls' prize well ahead of Lara Vadlau (AUT). Rachel Lee (SIN) had a superb 5/6 to snatch girls' bronze. 2006 champion Julian Autenrieth (GER) came back from his disastrous OCS/34/39 in the earlier light-weather races to finish fourth overall. Of the 13 races five have been in light winds and the remainder in stronger stuff, including one race where 32 knots were recorded. It has been one of the best tests of all-round skills -- possibly the best since the last time the Optis visited Sardinia. -- Robert Wilkes, http://www.optiworld.org/ioda-news.html CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Aug 2-6 - U.S. Independence Cup (for disabled) - Chicago, IL, USA Aug 3-5 - Buzzards Bay Regatta - South Dartmouth, MA, USA Aug 3-5 - J24 Canadian Nationals - Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada Aug 3-5 - Montana Cup - Somers, MT, USA Aug 3-4 - US-IRC Pacific Coast Championship - San Francisco, CA, USA Aug 4-6 - Columbia Gorge One Design - Cascade Locks, OR, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SILVER STAR The Star Class North American Championships started Wednesday at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club in British Columbia, Canada, with six races scheduled though Sunday. In addition to the Silver Star at steak, this is the second to last US Olympic Team Trials Qualifier where the top five US boats earn a spot at the trials scheduled in October at the California YC in Marina del Rey. The fleet is packed with top sailors including six Olympic Medalists from three countries and an array of World Champions from multiple classes. Unfortunately, at 8:00 PDT there still were no race results for Day One posted. -- http://www.starnorthamericans2007.org/ IN THE MED The leaderboard in the TP52 Division of the 26 Copa del Rey Camper Audi was shaken up a bit on Wednesday - a day of racing marked by the continuous changes of wind, both in speed and direction. Three races were sailed on the bay of Palma de Majorca in winds as light as 6 knots up to 14 knots in the last one. It was a good day for Siemens/Matador with Paul Cayard calling tactics -- all top five finishes of 2, 3, 5. Artemis with Russell Coutts as tactician had the best day with a 5-1-1. Tuesday’s leader, Vasco Vascotto’s Mutua Madrilena, had two mid fleet finishes and one first place. However, the jury accepted Mutua Madrilena's evidence in support of their protest over the start of Race 5, alleging a general recall signal was shown for between four and six seconds before an individual recall was signaled. They were given redress of 20% places, giving them tenth in Race 5, rather than the 14th. They remain second overall but their points tally drops to 22 points, giving them five points of breathing space on Artemis going in to Thursday's coastal race. Standings: 1. Siemens, 14prs; Mutua Madrilena, 22pts; 3. Artmis, 27pts; 4. Stay Calm, 29 pts. 5. Bribon, 31 pts. -- http://2007.medcup.org/index.php?idioma=2 DISCOVER THE BEST BOATING GEAR/EQUIPMENT MyBoatsGear.com is the place that keeps you in touch with all the best boating products available on the market. From safety, to electronics to deck gear and 18 other categories, we show you what’s new and what’s the best, with almost 1,000 links to manufacturers. Each week we upload more qualified products for your consideration. What are the latest developments in electronics? How can I solve my anchor dragging issue? We can help answer questions like these. By bookmarking this site, you will have the source for boating equipment, for access anytime. Go to http://MyBoatsGear.com SAILING SHORTS * Organizers of US Sailing’s upcoming Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC) - hosted by the Houston Yacht Club November 14-17 - is offering an incentive for early registering teams. Enter the regatta by October 12 and benefit from a US$100 discount off the US$675 entry fee. The final entry deadline is November 1 and no entries will be accepted after that date. The biennial Rolex IWKC, now in its 12th year, attracts over 50 teams to its challenging competition aboard J/22 class sailboats. http://www.ussailing.org/riwkc * The TP52 Morning Light has been sold to Syd Fischer, Australia's living legend of sailing who plans to race it in the Sydney-Hobart classic starting Dec. 26 (Boxing Day). He hasn't named a skipper, but Jeremy Wilmot, Morning Light’s Transpac skipper, might be available. His parents would never let him sail the Sydney-Hobart. They might see it differently now. -- Rich Roberts, http://www.transpacificyc.org * Scott Griffin and his crew of Paul Abdullah and Sarah Paisley have won all three of their initial races at the Thistle National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, but can’t relax at all because Mike Ingham is just a point behind with a 1-1-2 record. These two leaders are followed by 3. Lloyd Kitchin, 9pts; 4. Greg Fisher, 13pts; 5. Kyle Finefrock, 13pts; plus three skippers with 14 points -- Craig Koschalk, Terry Lettenmaier and Jack Finefrock. -- http://www.nw1d.com/Nationals/2007/results.html * The Heinzerling Championship Series of Snipe Nationals are underway at Lake Dillon, Colorado, and it appears that Dixon R. Smith and Cragan A. Smith are out in front after two races with 3.75 points - a quarter of a point in front of Ernesto Rodriguez and Megan Place. Curiously however, the results page is not sorted by total points, so you may want to double check the curmudgeon on this one. -- http://www.snipe2007.org/results.htm LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bruce Campbell: Ray Tostado asked about support for Junior Sailors by the free spending IAAC camps. I want to let him know that when Oracle came to the Seattle Yacht Club for their dog and pony show, they brought stuff for our race team as well as a number of items for auction after the dinner that was held. Among the items was a chance to sail on their boat for a practice day along with a stay at a hotel in Valencia and dinner with the team. All proceeds from the auction were to go to the junior race team. When bidding on the ride along reached $15,000, the commodore/auctioneer, Chris Otorowski, asked Tom Ehman and Chris Dickson if they would double up the prize and award it to each of the bidders. Without hesitation, they agreed. All told, the auction raised $36000 for the race team. Now I realize that Oracle didn't reach into their pockets, but they certainly made it possible to raise a nice sum. BTW, when the winners reached Valencia, they were put in a nicer hotel, got to sail in a race (not a practice) and came back with some great memories. Well done Oracle. * Andrew Bray, Editor, Yachting World, London -- Out of the billions of dollars spent on the America's Cup Ray Tostado (Scuttlebutt 2401) wonders how many junior sailing programmes benefitted. Tradition has it that each time there is a SINS (Society of International Nautical Scribes) gathering members present are fined for alleged misdemeanours. At the Valencia party during the America's Cup Bob Fisher presided and issued ˆ5 fines to most of those present, for transgressions ranging from being a SINS virgin to 'being an Editor and pretending to work'. All proceeds went to a local junior sailing programme. * From Nathan Warner, Australia: Bertarelli and the Alinghi team seem to have convinced themselves that they have done a noble thing retaining the America's Cup in Europe. To the rest of the world though, just are just "Euro"nating on the cup. Feels good for them, but no-one else. Good on you on this one Larry. * From Bill Furry: Maybe the Cup should revert back to the 'original' deed? Each country builds and crews their 'own' boats? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Too many couples marry for better, or for worse, but not for good. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and MyBoatsGear.com. |
